Movement in HEQ5??

[Paulus17]

Finally managed to get out for some gazing on Boxing day but when i got my HEQ6 set up i noticed some movement in the mount itself on the RA.

I/we tried tightening everything up but the same amount of movement was there.

Is this normal on the HEQ5 or is summat wrong with mine and if so can it be cured.??

[Steve Ward]

There was a little play in mine originally , a real pain with the 200PDS in a breeze.

There is provision for adjusting the amount of play in the worm meshing without stripping the mount.

It will require VERY LITTLE adjustment , ie less than 1/8 turn , to avoid binding.

You need to slacken the locking bolts and then tweak the allen bolts minimally , loosen one side and tighten the other a little like the Alt adjustment when PAing , and then retighten the locks , then rotate mount to check there's no binding.

It may take a few goes to get it sorted but it's worth it to get rid of the shake imparted by the wind.

Steve.

[Astro_Baby]

Heres how to do it in pics

http://www.astro-baby.com/heq5-rebuild/heq5-we1.htm

[Steve Ward]

Thanks for posting the pictorial guide , I knew there was one out there somewhere I just couldn't remember where . . .

Steve.

[Paulus17]

Thats great thank you both.

Is it an easy job to do??

[swag72]

I followed astro-baby's brilliant link for tinkering with my HEQ5. It was scary to start with, but you soon get into the grove!! I have a little play in my HEQ5. But it does not affect my imaging - I was capturing 1 hour subs the other night so it can't be too detrimental to have a bit of movement! I'm in the camp of try it out first before worrying about it. Did the movement hinder your goals in any way? If not, then I'd leave it alone!

[Daniel-K]

i have a little movement in my NEQ6 in the RA its only gotten more noticeable since i have got a bigger scope, its not affecting my tracking so im not bothered but i know its there and the OCD side of me wants to strip it down, i have already stripped the DEC down 3 times quite easy with the right tools.as Sara says if its not hindering you in anyway the risks dont justify striping it down.

[Astro_Baby]

Adjusting the play is easy enough BUT you need a certain 'feel' for it. These days I can do it quite quickly but the first time round it took a about a week of tinkering, too tight, too loose, now its binding again, now its too wobbly, now its fine but goes wobbly again later etc.

The trick is tiny movements, go very slowly, and test it each time. Leave it a day or so and test it again as the mount is made of pot metal so it can settle and change subtley over time.

Best advice is unless is causing a headache leave it alone unless you have a lot of time on your hands and have some flair/nous for things mechanical.

[Paulus17]

To be honest since i have had the HEQ5 and new scope i haven't been out much with it,like a lot of others,and still coming to grips with it,so haven't really had a chance to put it through its paces.

I did take some images the second time i was out with it and did have some unexplainable issues with the images i took which was posted, so this might have caused those issues??

But i think i will leave alone for now until i have a good session for imaging,as i think it will be fine for visual, and see what happens,but at least i now know it can be fixed.

Thanks everyone.

[Paulus17]

Just an update on this to say that i took the plunge and had a go at taking the play out and all seems ok i'm relieved to say.

Managed to get out for a couple of hours the other night and all seemed fine with it,all set up,just gotta sort my alignment out which i seem to be having probs with still??

But a big thank you to Astro Baby for further help and advice via PM.

[sulaco]

Great thread, i followed Astro baby's directions and just like that.. no play in the RA and works smoothly. Took all of 15 mins